on the broadcast tonight, five days to go before the country could plunge off the fiscal cliff. the president and the senate back early from vacation, but still no deal in sight. with your money at stake, why can't they reach an agreement in washington? extreme weather. more heavy snow and crippling delays from that massive storm with another one on the way. tonight, how will it impact the holiday weekend? got milk? why the price of a gallon could more than double in the next few days. what's behind this huge potential increase? and the lives they led. our annual look back at some of those we lost this year. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world

headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >> good evening, i'm natalie morales in for brian. just how bad is the situation in washington with only five days left before we reach the fiscal cliff? in a highly unusual move, lawmakers are being called back to work during this holiday week. but if today was any indication, it doesn't appear congressional leaders are ready to play nice, as they continue to play the blame game and point fingers at each other. meanwhile, many americans are feeling high anxiety, knowing those automatic spending cuts and tax hikes will impact every single one of us if there is still no deal by monday night. we begin our coverage with nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, natalie. the mood here really feels like resignation, that the fiscal cliff deadline will come and go, and no agreement reached. democrats and republicans say they want progress, but there is

nothing to report. but there are plenty of recriminations about which party is to blame. the president left his family in hawaii to return to washington. with the help of the economy and a bank account of every american family on the line. but the back and forth bickering continues. >> the only people in america who don't think taxes should be raised on the ridge are the republicans who work in this building. >> make no mistake. the only reason democrats have been trying to deflect attention on to me and my colleagues over the past few weeks, they don't have a plan of their own that could get bipartisan support. >> reporter: taxes go up for every worker next week. unemployment benefits for those out of the job longest run out. deep spending cuts kick in that could hasten a recession. and that hits a nerve. >> it really upsets me, because the government is supposed to be working for the people. and i don't see that.

>> i wish they would hurry up and make a decision, one way or the other. >> reporter: today, even house chaplain's daily prayer -- >> as this chamber lies silent still -- >> reporter: reflected the painful wait for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. >> send a spirit of wisdom and good judgment upon the leaders of congress that they might forge a solution to assuage the concerns of their fellow citizens. >> reporter: house gop leadership is did call members back to work this sunday, prepared to work through new year's. republican leaders say they would give in on higher taxes, but not more government spending. >> republicans aren't about to write a blank check or anything senate democrats put forward, just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. that wouldn't be fair to the american people. >> reporter: beyond the bitter politics is a real-world consequence. >> anyone who has regular salary or wage income, starting next

week, is going to see 2% less in their paycheck because the payroll tax holiday will end. so start to budget for that thing right now. >> reporter: and other kinds of taxes will go up too, like higher rates, so american families will feel it even more. but if this does go past january, there is a political reset. instead of congress voting to raise taxes, all those rates will have gone higher, so they're able to say they're voting to lower some taxes, and that makes a very big political difference. natalie? >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. thanks so much, kelly. for more now, we go to our chief white house correspondent and political director, chuck todd. chuck, is it all but inevitable now? are we going over the cliff? >> reporter: well, we're probably going over the cliff, but even when we go over, it's going to be temporary. but listen to that last point that kelly made. that adds to the silliness of what we are in right now, which is the last throes of these

congressional shenanigans. we may get a deal. i talked to some folks on the senate side who think they can get a deal together in the next 48 hours, that there will probably be some meet nth white house in the next 24 to 367 hours. and it's possible they could cobble together something. but i did have others who said to me, particularly those on the house said that said you know what, it's almost easy irat this pointing to over the cliff. next week they get to be cutting taxes, where this week they're raising them, even though they may be passing the exact same piece of legislation, natalie. >> you call it silliness and shenanigans. how will this affect public opinion of our lawmakers if they can't even find a solution to this crisis? >> reporter: well, they're already pretty unpopular as it is. and this congress is among the most unpopular of all-time, at least in the modern era. so they don't seem to be worried about public opinion. and, of course, their own constituency says a lot of this is still based on the same problems that block the two

sides from getting an agreement the last time, which is the base politics of the republican party is going to reward one aspect. and the base politics of the democratic party is only going to reward a certain level of compromise. compromise what the vast middle claims they want, they don't reward it at the ballot box. and until they do, the two sides aren't going to be coming together any time soon, natalie. >> all right. chuck todd, thanks so much. we saw some more dramatic evidence of just how much the fiscal cliff drama is weighing on americans' mood. consumer confidence dropped sharply this month, falling to a four-month low. that hit the stock market early, and the dow plunged 151 points by mid afternoon. then word that the house would reconvene sunday night sent the market back to break even and the dow ended up closing down just 18 points. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is warning that secretary of state hillary clinton will be returning to work next week. she has been off for several weeks after getting a stomach

virus and suffering a concussion after fainting. a spokesman says clinton continues to recuperate at home and looks forward to resuming her schedule. she's prepared to step down from her job early next year. and one other note from washington. the head of the environmental protection agency, lisa jackson, announced today that she is stepping down. jackson has led the agency since the beginning of the obama administration. she tangled with congress and even the white house itself, particularly on global warming issues. the other big story tonight, a deadly storm continues to wreak havoc in the northeast this hour. and before it's even over, another storm is already forming with now 65% of the country still covered in snow. the weather channel's eric fisher is in lewiston, maine. good evening to you, eric. >> good evening, natalie. 16 people have been killed by this latest winter storm that brought everything from tornadoes to coastal flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts and nearly 2 feet of snow. certainly has brought plenty of

misery for people from texas to maine. today a massive storm moved north, dumping more than a foot of snow in parts of new england. it's been a record-breaking system as it moved across the country. >> look at that tornado. >> spawning a reported 26 tornadoes across the south. and flooding along the already hard-hit east coast. the results? a travel nightmare for millions. >> we circled for over an hour before we landed, yeah. pretty rough flight coming in. >> in the past two days, more than 2,000 flights have been cancelled. in los angeles, many eastbound flights are delayed. in new york, stranded passengers spent the night at laguardia airport, hoping for better news today. >> horrible. not comfortable at all. >> reporter: at new york's mccarthur airport, a southwest airlines jet veered off the taxi way and got stuck in the mud, following heavy rains overnight. high winds and rain brought flooding to many east coast areas hit hardest by hurricane sandy. in sea side park, new jersey,

barn aget bay is threatening homes two months after sandy devastated the area. in brooklyn, near coney island, bulldozers stacked sand on to the dunes, renewing efforts to protect high tide. and in rock away park, queens, the storm brought high surf, an ongoing threat given tomorrow's high moon. crews are working to restore electricity to more than 200,000 customers affected by the christmas-day storms. new surveillance video from a drugstore in mobile, alabama shows how destructive the tornadoes were. inside the store, shoppers are caught off guard as fierce winds shook the building and ripped products from the shelves. in all, twisters cut across four states. the storm system that created those tornadoes is now up here in maine. it dumped more than a foot of snow and more is on the way. for all the weary holiday travelers that are tuning in tonight, there is better news tomorrow with calmer weather and hopefully all those thousands of

flights they'll be able to catch up. however, a brief break, natalie. another storm on the way this weekend. >> exactly. all right, eric fisher in lewiston, maine. thank you so much. where is that storm hded next and what can we expect with the new system? chris warren is at the weather channel headquarters. chris, good evening. >> good evening, natalie. the new system will not be as strong as the one going through right now, but still going to cause significant travel impacts in the northeast this weekend. the most recent storm dropped anywhere from 6 inches of snow to more than a foot and a half of snow throughout parts of the northeast and new england. that next system is going to be on the heels of this one right here. this one is moving out of here as eric mentioned, getting a break. but saturday it develops off the coast and moves off the coast in the northeast. and with that, we're looking at generally light isn't that true snow accumulations from an inch to 3 inches. keep this in mind, philadelphia, the new york city airports, all

the way up to boston during the day on saturday will be seeing some snow. low visibilities. and natalie, while it might not be that bad on the roads, if you are planning to go to the airport saturday in the northeast, bring a good book. >> all right. chris warren at the weather channel, thanks so much. when "nightly news" continues on this thursday evening, why a gallon of milk could more than double in price just days from now. and our annual look back at some of the notable people who left us this year. [ dog barking ] ♪ [ female announcer ] life is full of little tests, but your basic paper towel can handle them. especially if that towel is bounty basic. the towel that's durable, and scrubbable. in this lab demo, bounty basic is stronger than the leading bargain brand. everyday life? bring it with bounty basic. the strong but affordable picker-upper... now costs even less.

♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. the fiscal cliff isn't the only piece of business congress hasn't finished as the year draws to a close. the farm bill, which has a major impact on prices of all kinds of food expired three months ago,

and unless they approve a new one soon, it could mean very bad news at your local supermarket. here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the dairy industry is calling it the milk cliff. just like tax rates, if congress doesn't approve a farm bill by january 1st, the price of milk could go up. way up. right now, an average gallon costs $3.65. it could soar to between $6 and $8. >> that would be a pretty big impact. >> we would probably still be going through it but maybe cut down on other things. >> reporter: it wouldn't be just milk prices. all dairy products would be affected. imagine if wisconsin cheddar costs more than imported french brie. what would that mean for the average grilled cheese? one part of the large and very complicated farm bill controls the dairy market. without it, pricing would go back to an outdated law put in place during the truman era. the government would be required to buy dairy products based on

1949 production costs, when milking was done by hand. that would double today's price. farmers would lose incentive to sell directly to producers, and prices in the grocery store would sky rocket. >> it can't happen. it just can't happen. >> reporter: farmers like skip hardy in new york say it would be nice to get high prices from the government at first. but ultimately, this would kill the industry. >> the economy being what it is, if -- the price of anything doubles, people are going to stop buying it. >> probably go back down to water. >> reporter: lucky for congress, it won't happen right away. the department of agriculture could take weeks to put a new dairy purchase program in place. >> they'll have time enough after the new congress is seated to pass legislation thand eithe extend our previous farm bill or perhaps even pass a new farm bill. >> reporter: but eventually congress will have to agree on something. or a staple at the dinner table could soon turn into a luxury.

stephanie gosk, nbc news, chicago. and up next, a new list of some of the like, you know, most annoying words. to the best vacation spot on earth. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi.

you mean alabama. say louisiana or there's no dessert. this invitation is brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. but that doesn't happen much anymore. the creative process never stops. and songwriting is so hard, but i love it. these days, i guess i just don't want to miss a thing. [ laughs ] i miss you guys. that's me. and this is my windows phone. [ male announcer ] new windows phone. reinvented around you. ♪ i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions

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we're back tonight with a few words about some of the most annoying words. in its annual survey on the subject, the maris poll puts twitter verse at number five, just along with you know and like which are perennially annoying, and for the fourth year in a row "whatever" tops the list as part of the most irritating conversation. and speaking of annoying, parking your car can be annoying no matter where you live, but people in chicago are in for sticker shock come the new year. parking meter rates are set to rise to $6.50 an hour in the loop business district. that's the highest in north america. it's all the result of a deal struck in 2008 by former mayor richard daly, who leased the

city's meters to a private company for 75 years, and most of the billion dollars the city got for the lease has already been spent. and under the category "just because it's adorable," there is this tonight. a new look at the 5-month-old panda cub at the san diego zoo. these pictures were taken during his weekly exam. the vets report he's growingly normally and showing more movement and activity, including new interest in his surroundings and toys. and here in new york, they're getting ready for the big night. workers installed hundreds of the new waterford crystal panels on the times square new year's eve ball with doves chiseled into them. more than 1 billion people are expected to watch as the ball makes its descent monday night. and now there is an app for that, too. the free times square ball app puts you in the middle of the world's biggest new year's eve party. when we come back, our look back at those who left us, and those we'll miss from this past year.

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just two aleve can keep pain away all day. you know it even after all these years. but your erectile dysfunction - you know,that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions

such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! we have an annual year-end tradition here of looking back. and as we wind down this last week of 2012, tonight is the night for that. while the holidays remind us all of the losses of those close to

us, tonight we look at some of the notable names who departed this past year. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ will always love you ♪ >> ma, leave me alone! ♪ >> mr. president? ♪ >> survey says! >> you have succeeded in becoming the perfect failure.

>> what is the "sesame street" number of the day? [ laughter ] ♪ ♪ we're moving on up ♪ moving on up ♪ to the top >> yes, yes, yes! >> i'll have what she's having. ♪ at last ♪ my love has come along ♪ my lonely days are over

♪ and life is like a song ♪ oh yeah, yeah ♪ at last ♪ the skies above are blue ♪ let's dance ♪ let's dance ♪ tonight ♪ staying alive staying alive ♪ >> peace and love! >> "american band stand". >> biggest party in the world. new year's eve and times square. ♪ ♪ around again

♪ >> we all get along. ♪ people will stop to hold their hand ♪ ♪ ♪ daydream believer ♪ and homecoming queen ♪ moon river >> it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> liftoff of sds-7 and america's first woman astronaut. >> come home, america. come home to the affirmations

that we have a dream. ♪ >> may i ask my question, please, sir? ♪ and our thanks to producer victor lemhoko and barry silverm silverman. if you want to share it with others, we have put it on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. thank you for being with us. i'm natalie morales in for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening.

good night.